Which bank offers Home loans in Dubai now?

Any ideas if it would be better to get a mortgage from a non local bank i.e. Barclays, over a local bank i.e. Emirates NBD. We have been told not touse local banks but no one has given us a good explanation as to why. Because if you have a mortgage with a local bank, the only insurance they offer is life insurance on the policy - there is no protection if you become redundant or for another reason can't keep up the payments.

There are many who will tell you buying property here is a no no, however there are some good buys out there, and some good investments, you just have to be careful not to get carried away and over pay, and be careful which area you choose. edited by AdviceSeeker on 12/09/2011 Many thanks AdviceSeeker. Yes, there are some very good offers now... and hence thinking of buying.. As you say, I am very cautious of choosing "where" to buy... I am not looking for renting the place but for ourselves to stay here and maybe for a long run... OK well if you're buying to live you have a different need for the property. That is because you will be choosing a property you would like to live in yourself, so you'll be willing to spend a little more on say, the view even though it may not be the better investment. The first thing you have to do is decide how much you have to spend, and where you would like to live, then decide if its a good investment for you rather than paying rent. Again you just have to do the calculations and see what it comes out to. I've always found buying an investment property is very different to buying a house to live in, and I like to keep the two things separate, but as I said do the numbers and see how it works out. Best of luck :)

Any ideas if it would be better to get a mortgage from a non local bank i.e. Barclays, over a local bank i.e. Emirates NBD. We have been told not touse local banks but no one has given us a good explanation as to why. Many believe local banks are less organized and can change the rules at any time, but I think they're pretty much the same thing just different packaging.

I Have recently read about new schemes where your rent is used to purchase the proprtey ,has anyone else heard of these schemes and if they are worth it These were happening in JVT/JVC which in turn has inflated the prices a bit there. Last I checked there were no more available under that scheme but still worth you checking out if you're interested.

I agree with advice seeker.buying property here is nt bad if you do your calculations right & approach the right agent to sort your requirements out without fleecing you.I can recommend highly a relatively new company named acrohouse properties 044514848. Very ethical,transparent and have tie ups with banks to help with loan requirements.they are also into property management and my boss uses them for his properties , he's very satisfied.HTH!

I Have recently read about new schemes where your rent is used to purchase the proprtey ,has anyone else heard of these schemes and if they are worth it

Any ideas if it would be better to get a mortgage from a non local bank i.e. Barclays, over a local bank i.e. Emirates NBD. We have been told not touse local banks but no one has given us a good explanation as to why.

It depends where you're going to buy. Certain developments only deal with certain banks, so you need to check. Be aware though that the mortgage rates are pretty high.

Almost all banks are offering home loans now. United Arab Bank had the lowest rates when I last checked, but that may have been a special. ADCB offers up to 85% of the property price (or valuation) to expats, but their rate is higher. Tamweel also had a good deal where you were able to pay off your loan in full without any penalty, not sure if they're still doing that. In terms of where to buy, you have to look for the best deal and decide what you're looking to achieve. For example, if you're looking for highest rental return, then you need to find an area which has high demand for rental properties like, say the greens for apartments and springs for villas. If you're looking to speculate, and get a good price now but hope that in 3-5 years you may be able to make some capital gains, you would consider areas like The Villa or JVT, JVC where the buy in prices are lower for the size property you get but the communities are not developed so you would probably make a loss on the rent, but hope that in 3-5 years when the community is up and running you could sell for an increase (the villa for e.g.. buy a mazaya A1 for 2million and sell in 3- 5 years for 2.8million) when it comes to Apartments VS Villas, Villas are usually touted as a better investment because there are less of them, and they have lower community fees. There is a huge oversupply of apartments at the moment and I wouldn't buy in places like International City, JLT, Silicon Oasis. I would also be cautious with the Palm apartments because of all the maintenance issues. In saying that, it also depends on how much money you have to spend. The number one rule to investing in property is to do the numbers. For example, you may see two apartments, one is a 2bed plus study one is a 2bed, the 2bed is 500'000 and the 2bed plus study is 800'000 (in the same building) agents will tell you you're much better off with a 2bed plus study because its more spacious, nicer view etc etc, but if you look at the rental return a 2bed +study could achieve say 85'000-90'000 rent whereas a 2 bed would be getting 75'000-80'000 rent, the community fees would be lower on the 2bed without a study as it is smaller and in terms of capital growth, they're both in the same building so they will both rise pretty much the same or fall the same if thats the way the market goes. There are many who will tell you buying property here is a no no, however there are some good buys out there, and some good investments, you just have to be careful not to get carried away and over pay, and be careful which area you choose. Make sure you research carefully and get a good idea of the prices around, and always do the numbers as that is a really good guide to a good investment property. If you do the numbers and they don't seem to be in your favor but you really love the property, just remind yourself its for investment not for you to live in. Don't over commit yourself either. <em>edited by AdviceSeeker on 12/09/2011</em>

I had an email yesterday about Emirates NBD's new home loans. Can't speak from experience though.

SCB offers loans at 4.99. I've seen HSBC advertise 5.49%..... Take your own call. It was never all gold and its not all ash now either!! would not recomment SubStandard Chartered to my worst enemy; they are the world's most irritating bank and are staffed by idiots :) IMHO of course

Hi Sareek, we recently purchased beautiful home in Alvorada Arabian Ranches, our loan was through RAK Bank, they were extremely professional if you would like me to give you further details I will be happy to pass along the agent who helped us and contact at the bank. We intend to be here for many years so renting doesn't make any sense.

SCB offers loans at 4.99. I've seen HSBC advertise 5.49%..... Take your own call. It was never all gold and its not all ash now either!!

LOL !!! don't you just love EW :D and i agree- wouldn't borrow money here if my life depended on it...

You are crazy to buy anything here. Think twice Ditto, don't do it.

You are crazy to buy anything here. Think twice